Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Ingredient Chicken Casserole–an easy slow cooker and oven combo recipe made with tender shredded chicken, sour cream, cheddar cheese and a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
5 Ingredient Chicken Casserole
This easy 5 ingredient recipe starts off in your slow cooker and then finishes off in the oven. It’s basically chicken in a creamy sauce with cheese and Ritz crackers on top. I like to serve with on top of hot cooked rice (which I make in the Instant Pot). This is a good casserole base to start with and can easily be added to. For example, try adding in mushrooms and peas. Or make it tex mex style and add in diced green chiles and use Mexican cheese blend instead of cheddar. You can also skip the slow cooker step by using cooked shredded chicken, such as rotisserie chicken. Give Dolly’s recipe a shot this week 🙂
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs–or chicken breasts
- Cream of chicken soup–or cream of mushroom
- Sour cream
- Salt and pepper–to taste
- Cheddar cheese–or Colby Jack
- Ritz crackers–or butter crackers or panko mixed with melted butter
Steps
Add chicken into slow cooker and spoon the cream of chicken soup over the top.
Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Break the chicken up with a spoon or shred the chicken.
Stir in the sour cream. Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat oven to 350° F.
In a 8×8 inch baking dish layer half of the chicken, half of the cheese–then repeat. Sprinkle the crushed Ritz on top.
Bake for 25-30 mintues.
Serve plain or over the top of the rice, mashed potatoes or noodles.
Notes/Tips
- Serve this over rice, mashed potatoes buttered noodles.
- Add veggies like broccoli, peas, mushrooms or green beans to make it a complete meal. If adding vegetables, stir in about 1–2 cups of steamed or thawed veggies (like broccoli, peas, or green beans) right after shredding the chicken and before mixing in the sour cream. Most veggies should be pre-cooked or thawed so they don’t release excess water during baking.
- For extra flavor, stir in garlic powder, onion powder or a little ranch seasoning.
- Make it southwest style by adding in a can or two of diced green chiles.
- I used my 6 quart Ninja slow cooker. This would also work in a smaller slow cooker like a 3 quart.
- If you want to forego the slow cooker step altogether just use rotisserie chicken and stir it with cream of chicken and sour cream.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with Ritz crackers are Air Fryer Heavenly Chicken and Gulf Coast Casserole.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Ingredient Chicken Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
An easy slow cooker and oven combo recipe made with tender shredded chicken, sour cream, cheddar cheese and a buttery Ritz cracker topping.
Ingredients
- 24 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken
- 1 cup sour cream
- Salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 15 Ritz crackers (half of a sleeve), crushed
Instructions
- Add chicken into slow cooker and spoon the cream of chicken soup over the top.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Break the chicken up with a spoon or shred the chicken.
- Stir in the sour cream. Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat oven to 350° F.
- In a 8×8 inch baking dish layer half of the chicken, half of the cheese–then repeat. Sprinkle the crushed Ritz on top.
- Bake for 25-30 mintues.
- Serve plain or over the top of the rice, mashed potatoes or noodles.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker and Oven
More Dolly recipes…
Instant Pot Dolly Parton’s 5-Layer Dinner
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Instant Pot Dolly Parton’s Stone Soup
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Instant Pot Dolly Parton Stampede Chicken
The Instant Pot can cook a whole chicken to moist, delicious perfection in less than an hour. This method makes THE best Instant Pot chicken every single time.
Instant Pot Dolly Parton Diet Soup
An easy soup packed with vegetables and only 78 calories per serving!
Dolly Parton’s Chicken and Dumplings
An easy, homemade Instant Pot or Crockpot version of Dolly’s thick and creamy chicken soup with perfectly cooked, light and airy dumplings.
Dolly’s Casserole
Dolly’s Casserole–a super easy recipe for a cheesy rice and chicken casserole. Pin this recipe for later! Dolly’s Casserole With a tiny list of ingredients and only 10 minutes of prep you can enjoy a comforting chicken and rice casserole for dinner tonight. This is one of those recipes that just reminds me of Grandma’s
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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